On December 9, 2022, a corruption scandal, unprecedented in its scale and involving in particular Morocco and Qatar, was revealed. Several MEPs are among the accused. How could these events have happened? What are the rules in place to combat such a phenomenon and how can they be improved?
Searches, large sums of cash and political representatives behind bars. On December 9, 2022, these Hollywood-like scenes were making headlines across Europe as “Qatargate”. Revealed by the Belgian media Le Soir and Knack, this broad affair of corruption and interference by foreign states splashed the European Parliament, two days before its last plenary session of the year in Strasbourg.
If the judicial inquiry is underway to try to shed light on this episode, the subject continues to fuel discussions among MEPs. Proposed by the president of the institution, a reform of the rules of transparency is under study.
What happened on December 9, 2022?
If the scandal only broke out recently, the facts date back to 2021. The Belgian intelligence services then investigated suspicions of corruption within the European Parliament on the part of Moroccan agents. While digging, they also discover that Qatar is involved.
Several elected officials and people from their respective entourages are thus accused of having received money from these two countries in an attempt to influence certain European decisions in their favour.
On December 9, Greek MEP Eva Kaïlí, then Vice-President of the European Parliament, was arrested at her home in Brussels with 150,000 euros hidden in small bills in hand luggage and travel bags. Her father, whom she warned a few moments earlier, was intercepted with nearly 500,000 euros as he tried to flee. In all, 1.5 million euros were seized that day by the Belgian federal police during 16 searches.
Five people were then taken into custody. Since then, other arrests have taken place in Belgium and Italy. The investigation is led by Belgian judge Michel Claise, a specialist in financial crime.
What actions have been taken by Qatar?
On November 14, 2022, Qatari Minister of Labor Ali bin Samikh Al Marri is the guest of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights. A few days before the start of the FIFA World Cup in Doha, parliamentarians must notably discuss the working conditions of workers on construction sites. That day, several deputies considered “favorable to the regime” are installed in the room. One of them, Marc Tarabella, denounces speeches that are too critical of Qatar. The minister’s answers were also said to have been drafted in advance by some of the people implicated in this affair in order to avoid bad publicity for the country one week before the big event.
On November 21, 2022, the GUE group (radical left) asks to include on the agenda a resolution on the working conditions of workers in Qatar. A large majority of the European People’s Party (EPP) opposed it, but also many deputies from the Socialist Group (S&D) from which the deputies in question came. The latter would have done everything to convince their colleagues to vote in this direction.
Who are the main defendants and suspects?
Stripped of her post as vice-president and excluded from her group, Eva Kaïlí is in reality only one element of the vast network involved in this affair. This brings together former and current MEPs, parliamentary assistants, representatives of NGOs and trade unions.
According to the first elements of the investigation, the presumed leader of this organization would be the former Italian Socialist MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri. Elected to the European Parliament for ten years (2004-2019), he notably held the presidency of the delegation on relations with the Maghreb countries. After leaving his post in the European assembly, in 2019 he founded the NGO Fight impunity, suspected of being only a platform to allow the circulation of dirty money. His former assistant, Francesco Giorgi is considered his right arm. The latter is also the companion of Eva Kaïlí.
Several MEPs are also suspected. Andrea Cozzolino, an Italian socialist and reputed to be close to Mr. Panzeri, thus recovered Francesco Giorgi as an assistant in 2019. The Belgian Marc Tarabella, searched on December 10 at his home, was denounced by Mr. Panzeri. Both men had their parliamentary immunity lifted by their colleagues on February 2. A few days later, on February 11, the first was arrested in his country in Naples while the second was indicted for “corruption, money laundering and participation in a criminal organization” and placed in pre-trial detention.
The names of other MEPs and their assistants have also been cited but are not officially called into question for the moment. In mid-January, Mr. Panzeri admitted his guilt and agreed to cooperate with investigators.
The network extends well beyond the corridors of Parliament. Elected to head the International Trade Union Confederation in November 2022, Luca Visentini is suspected of being part of it. The latter would have benefited from the support of Qatar for his election and from cash payments from Mr. Panzeri. He is currently suspended from his duties.
In this case, the suspects are particularly numerous. In an attempt to see more clearly, the newspaper Le Soir published on January 6, 2022 an interactive infographic bringing together the protagonists of the affair.
What measures are in place to control lobbying?
The scandal goes far beyond the simple question of lobbying. However, some MEPs believe that it revealed flaws in the transparency of the institution and in the current regulation of influence activities. While arguing that stricter rules would reduce risks in the future.
Today, lobbying at European level is mainly framed by the transparency register. Entering into force and revised in 2021, this database – now common to the Commission, the Parliament and the Council of the EU – lists all the entities that wish to carry out lobbying activities.
Lobbying: what European definition?
According to the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life in France, lobbying is defined as follows in the European Union: “all activities carried out with the aim of influencing the policies and decision-making processes of the instruments of the ‘Union, regardless of where they are carried out and regardless of the channel or mode of communication used’. Lobbyists are considered to be “all organizations and individuals acting as independents, regardless of their legal status, carrying out lobbying activities”.
“This includes six main categories of lobbyists: consulting firms, companies and trade unions, think tanks and academic institutions, religious organizations, representations of local authorities and other public entities”.
Lobbies, citizens, agencies… what influence on European decisions?
As of February 15, 2023, 12,509 entities are registered there. In concrete terms, they must complete an annual declaration published in the register. It contains information on the amount of expenditure as well as the purpose of the organization’s lobbying activities (communication, meeting with members of the European Commission or participation in its expert groups, contributions to public consultations or roadmaps). By registering, lobbyists must comply with a code of conduct.
Registration is optional. However, it becomes (in theory) mandatory for certain activities such as obtaining accreditation to the European Parliament and participating in hearings, meeting European Commissioners and members of their cabinet or even accessing the premises of the Council of the EU.
But this obligation is only slightly controlled. Thus, the NGO Fight Impunity, at the heart of the Qatargate scandal, managed to penetrate the buildings of the institution by devious means. Moreover, the rule has exceptions. Thus, representatives of third countries (such as Qatar and Morocco) or former MEPs (such as Pier Antonio Panzeri) are not affected by these provisions.
Furthermore, since 2011, parliamentarians must respect a code of conduct regarding financial interests and conflicts of interest. The rules of the European Parliament also require that some of its members (those in charge of legislative files and committee chairs) publish their meetings with interest representatives. But again, this remains theoretical because the device is not very restrictive and weakly sanctioned. Finally, like the events that occurred in the context of Qatargate, all these mechanisms do not regulate the interactions between politicians and lobbyists… outside of official buildings.
Will these measures be reinforced?
Reforming the rules of transparency
Aware of these serious shortcomings, the European Parliament has been carrying out an introspection since the first revelations of the scandal. Thus, the reform of the transparency rules is already leading the debates in the hemicycle. On January 12, 2023, the president of the institution Roberta Metsola presented to the leaders of the political groups her first ideas, with a watchword: “strengthen integrity, independence and responsibility”.
A direct response to the scandal, the text proposes, for example, to prohibit former MEPs from lobbying directly at the end of their mandate and from free access to buildings. A provision which would also concern representatives of third countries. The document also plans to abolish the friendship groups with these same third countries, informal and little controlled structures to which some of the parliamentarians suspected in the affair belonged.
It also provides for a series of binding measures to reinforce the transparency of the activity of MEPs (gifts, trips undertaken outside the EU, related professions) or to train parliamentary assistants in ethical and financial rules. Each MEP should also appoint an assistant as responsible for compliance with these rules. Last element, the Parliament intends to strengthen its cooperation with the judicial services of the Member States. But also the sanctions provided for those who break the rules of the institution.
A parliamentary committee of the European Parliament will now take up the subject. On the occasion of a plenary session, the institution voted on February 14 an update of the title and responsibilities of the special committee on foreign interference. Chaired by Raphaël Glucksmann, the committee, which is entrusted with new tasks “will be responsible for identifying the shortcomings in terms of transparency, integrity, accountability and the fight against corruption, in the rules of Parliament”, indicates the ‘institution. The “calendar promises to be very tight”, underlines the French MEP who wants measures to be in force before the next European elections, scheduled for spring 2024.
Mixed reactions to the proposals of the President of the European Parliament
Roberta Metsola has promised to act quickly to reform the rules of transparency. The reply sent on 12 January 2023 received the green light from the presidents of the political groups in Parliament. However, it is not sufficient, judge several MEPs and observers.
Manon Aubry (GUE), for her part, would like Parliament to work on the basis of the resolution voted by a very large majority in December 2022. This included concrete elements such as the creation of a European ethics body (taken over by the European Commission, see below), the setting up of an internal commission of inquiry, the appointment of a vice-president in charge of the fight against corruption or even a strengthening of collaboration with existing bodies such as the European Public Prosecutor’s Office or the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).
For Corporate Europe Observatory, which is interested in the activity of lobbies in Europe, the proposals formulated by the President of the European Parliament “are far from guaranteeing that there will be no more scandals in the future”. “We need more than interim measures. We need a strong set of lobbying rules, properly enforced. This proposal misses the mark on essential ethical issues and, of course, without rigorous application, all these measures risk being rendered meaningless,” says Olivier Hoedeman, the organization’s coordinator.
Towards a European ethics body?
Another proposal made in 2019 by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen when she took office also came back on the table. In March, the European executive will propose the creation of a European ethical body, like the High Authority for the transparency of public life in France.
This will be common to all the institutions and consultative bodies of the European Union and “will ensure common and high standards of integrity and transparency”, explained European Commissioner for Transparency Věra Jourová on 15 February in Strasbourg. This new structure had been demanded for a long time by certain MEPs such as Stéphane Séjourné (Renew) from 2019.
source: moroccomail
